vixpy1 said:
Got my local paint guy to blast the wing and respray.. £120. As always he did a great job.
Yes that's ok, but me thinks once I get out of the Mercedes warranty period my son in law will be my paintman. I have a very large workshop down the back of the house all kitted out with all the gear, tools, large compressor, assorted spray guns,airfed masks, infact everything you need. my son in law has just completed his MR2, jap import with full kit and chipped, full strip down of paintwork and done in Ferrari red. He picked up paint spraying by just practising at first in my workshop a couple of years ago, didn't take him long to get the knack, he's even been offered work by a Jap importer to do their paint work but declined has he doesn't want to do it as a trade, if you have the right gear your three quarters the way there. 30 or 40 quids worth of paint will do a full motor.
He fully resprayed my last Merc, it is still running about locally with a new owner and still looking immaculate even tho it's got 450 thousand on the clock, 95 E300D, boy I miss that motor, that never broke down or gave me any probs.Just heard the new owner had a recon job on the auto box, 700 quid and a heater motor and back on the road.
Back to paint spraying, after watching my son in law spraying I think I could soon get the hang, but hey I'm getting old now, why should I bother, let the young ones do it
I often look at the answers Dieselman gives, also others in the trade, to which I think [know]we are all grateful and should thank them for the advice.
In the 60's I was in the Army working with generators and power supply in the Royal Signals, usually working on my own in far off distant lands with a small troop or squadron, with just me on my own some to keep the power running for the communications gear. In the mid 70's early 80's I was a service engineer and trouble shooter for a very large forklift truck company covering the Northern area of UK,it was me who decided what was warranty or if it was chargeable, how times have changed, none of this going up the chain of command and all the paperwork. The name of the outfit I worked for, Clark Equipment a Yankie outfit, all sizes up to very large tonne, electric, diesel, lpg and electronic machines. Also worked on every other manufactors machines as well, Matbro, Yale, Boss, Coventry Climax, Nissan, Shaw, Linde, Toyota, Lancing Bagnall, Henley, Michigan, plus other manufactors names I have forgoten,plus the oddball machines, you name it I've repaired it. They all had manufacturing problems, the same as Mercedes Benz have their problems now. I have been out of it for years now, I forget, but things have moved on now, the hammer and chisel does not belong in the toolbox in this new age
I do still miss engineering, drilling and tapping, reaming, welding,braizing gear teeth etc etc, ripping off diesel pumps, sorting hydraulics out, re building auto transmissions, stripping, rebuilding Perkins engines, stripping down items to make repair, oh sorry, I'm starting to drool, now tho they just sling it and put a new item on, but has I said let the young do it now. I have forgotten a lot.
phew. [my tools are starting to go rusty, so am I]
Keep up the good work Dieselman.
Sorry to disagree and I feel sure I will get my usual 'incoming' for not being negative. 
